Victoria police say Apple has ‘half-fixed’ Maps Mildura blunder

Waylaid. The Maps display pinpoints the town of Mildura 70km from its actual location. Source: Herald Sun.

Following a public warning issued by Victoria police, Apple has reportedly ‘half-fixed’ an error with its Maps iOS software, which has led to a string of near-fatal incidents leaving drivers stranded in the outback.

Police sounded the alert after it was discovered that the Maps app currently positions Mildura in the middle of Murray Sunset National Park, 70km from the correct location.

“Local police have been called to assist distressed motorists who have become stranded within the Murray-Sunset National Park after following directions on their Apple iPhone,” Victoria police said in a press release yeserday.

“Some of the motorists located by police have been stranded for up to 24 hours without food or water and have walked long distances through dangerous terrain to get phone reception.”

Today, Mildura police inspector Simon Clemence told The Australian that it appeared Apple had made tweaks to its Maps app overnight, attempting to fix a glitch in the software that has led motorists travelling to Mildura astray, and into dangerous park land.

However, while the update seems to have corrected navigation for travellers coming from South Australia, Clemence revealed to the newspaper that the app was still displaying skewed locations when accessed from other regions.

“If you’re coming from Melbourne it still puts Mildura in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park,” Clemence told The Australian.

“They have half-fixed the problem.

“So, it would appear that the only people that are going to get lost in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park now are people from Melbourne. People from Adelaide will find their way to Mildura just fine!” Clemence added.

The Maps error has caused a number of dangerous situations for driver, including one man was stranded in the park for 24 hours, while another was misdirected into the area at 6pm on Friday, unable to get out until 5am the next day.

This is not the first incident of errors with the Maps since its launch alongside Apple’s iOS 6 on September 21. Reports of flaws in the navigation system followed shortly thereafter, prompting the company’s CEO Tim Cook to post a public apology online, advising iOS users to download competing map apps while Apple worked on improving the system.

“We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.”

Victoria police have contacted Apple regarding the incidents in Mildura, hoping to resolve the error and prevent further incidents occurring. In the mean time, authorities advise all motorists travelling to Mildura and other areas within Victoria to access alternative navigation systems until the issue has been fixed.

Have you had any problems using Apple Maps on the road? Tell us all about it in the comments section below.

2 Comments

It’s not just Mildura that Apple Maps gets wrong, there are plenty more.
Here is a few more that aren’t quite right that I have found.
Dimboola Vic, Murtoa Vic, Jeparit Vic, Beulah Vic, Naracoorte SA, Robe SA.
Minyip, Victoria doesn’t even exist and if you are looking for Springvale, Melbourne it will try to take you to Springvale, Maine, USA.
Most of the satellite photos are of poor quality around regional Victoria.
I was wondering why the photo looked awful of my home town of Horsham, when I realised that the photo was taken during a fog.

I really hope Apple sort this out soon, as it is really disappointing to see so many mistakes from a company that used to pride itself on quality.

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